Acting VA secretary to visit Fayetteville hospital

FAYETTEVILLE — The head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is visiting Fayetteville, home to a VA medical center with one of the country's worst waiting times for primary care treatment.

Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson is scheduled to meet Thursday with the leadership and employees of the Fayetteville VA Medical Center.

Gibson's visit comes days after the VA this week released the results on an internal audit showing that patients at the Fayetteville medical center wait an average of 29 days for a primary care appointment. New patients wait 83 days.

Officials said the delays were caused by an overstressed system.

Gibson became VA head last month after Eric Shinseki resigned following allegations that veterans died while waiting for care at a Phoenix VA Medical Center.